Bolivarianism

Bolivarianism is a school of South American socialism that developed during the 1990s. Hugo Chavez was the most important Bolivarian ideologue, supporting the independence and sovereignty of South America from American imperialism, participative democracy, economic self-sufficiency, patriotism, the elimination of corruption, and the redistribution of wealth. Bolivarianism drew heavily from the ideals of Colombian national hero Simon Bolivar, who liberated much of South America from the Spanish colonial authorities during the early 19th century. However, the economic isolationism encouraged by Bolivarianism led to Chavez' country of Venezuela losing its oil revenues, the most important source of income for the country, and Venezuela became poverty-stricken and fell into a state of anarchy during the 2010s.